(Click here to go to ATC 4.0 in the iTunes App store!)
In ATC, you must safely direct air traffic over a busy airfield
Control the whole sky!
Direct air traffic and enjoy the beautiful scenery!
Satisfy your God Complex!
In Air Traffic Controller 4.0 you routinely make split-second decisions that affect the lives of thousands.
ATC 4.0 is the latest incarnation of the classic ATC mobile game franchise. It takes advantage of the iPhone to bring ATC fans an improved game experience featuring: an updated OpenGL-based game engine including shadows, cloud effects, weather effects, lights, and smoother animation. OpenAL-based sounds also add to the richness of the game experience.
So, what kind of game is ATC 4.0? Well, basically you play the role of an air traffic controller directing air traffic over a busy airfield. Planes may take off or land on the airfield, or they may just be passing through. Whatever the case, it is your task to avoid collisions and to safely and efficiently direct planes to their destinations.
The game is split up into “days” (basically a day is a level), each day having associated with it a concrete goal such as “Clear 20 planes” or “the President is in town — avoid the No-Fly-Zones”. The player must play 49 such days in series before being declared the world’s greatest ATC. Many of the days offer unique challenges and graphics for the user to enjoy.
A night level in ATC -- thankfully FAA regulations require planes to have operational wingtip lights!
A quick run-down of game features:
- Detailed graphics — from plane blinking lights and runway lights to tiny cars that drive around on the road
- Weather effects, clouds, snow, etc
- Wind
- Night levels
- Elegant touch interface and waypoint system to manage planes
- Collision warning effects
- Sound effects
- Multiple plane types — from small planes to jumbo jets and military fighters — all are relying on you to guide them to their destinations!
- Airports with up to 6 runways to simulate a busy airfield!
- High replay value with 49 levels!
- Internet highscore leaderboards — can you compete to be the best ATC in the world?
- In-game tutorial
- In-game help
A quick run-down of some of the featured scenarios:
One wrong move as ATC could spell disaster!
- Day levels
- Snow levels
- Overcast/Cloudy levels
- Hurricane winds
- Plane emergencies
- Computers crashing
- High-speed military jets
- Presidential visits with no-fly-zones
on Feb 6th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Hi there, just letting you know that I made these changes to your post:
- Removed 2nd iTunes link (only one app store link please)
- Removed extra tags beyond 5 tag limit
Please click on “Developers” in the site nav for posting guidelines.
On a lighter note, this game looks really cool!!
Thanks,
Michael
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on Feb 7th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Thanks Michael, and keep up the good work with this very excellent site!
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on Feb 11th, 2009 at 2:07 am
[...] scenery! Satisfy your God Complex!When I read these words in C3 Software’s ATC 4.0 posting on iPhone App Index.com I knew I had to take this app for a test drive. God complex? I have a HUGE God [...]
on Feb 11th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Well I see the trackback has already alerted you to my review of ATC… it’s a great game, hope things are going well in the sales department!
http://www.iphoneappreviews.net/2009/02/11/atc-40/
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cculianu reply on February 16th, 2009 8:27 am:
Thanks for the compliments! Your review really rocked and I am so happy you played the game enough to get to things like the computer crash screen, etc.
Cheers!
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on Feb 18th, 2009 at 9:44 am
The ATC 4.0 promotional video is out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSagQkVY7oo
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on Mar 3rd, 2009 at 5:56 am
Hi there, love the game and find it really addictive but is there any chance of updating the game so that level 14 isn’t so madly difficult or at least allow the option to skip a level?
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on Mar 3rd, 2009 at 6:34 am
Hi,
Are you the airline pilot that posted in the reviews complaining about level 14? Well you aren’t the only person to find level 14 hard. I was able to beat it just now (I tried it again to be sure) — but you are right, it may be harder than it needs to be for that early in the game. It has too many planes to clear. I am talking to the designer now (we worked together on this game) to get his input on it.
At any rate we *are* working on an update and chances are level 14 will be easier to clear (I think the designer will agree with me).
I don’t think we’ll allow players to skip a level but I can see if that’s doable from a game point of view.
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Stephen reply on March 3rd, 2009 6:53 am:
Nope, I didn’t post a review. I’ve seen other reviews mentioning level 14 as the stumbling block.. Really love the game though and thanks for taking the time to reply.
Best of luck
Stephen
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on Mar 3rd, 2009 at 7:19 am
Ok, I discussed it with the designer and he agrees 15 planes should make that level more sane. The next level to have you clear 25 planes is actually level 28 — so yeah, 25 was a little excessive on our parts!
Anyway keep at it. You can do it! Here’s a tip: when selecting planes, lightly tap the screen — if you tap too hard the iPhone’s own touch engine gets confused and may mis-align your tap. Also, keep planes away from the takeoff runway or the sides.
You can do it! I am not really the best ATC and I was able to clear this level on my third try this morning..
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on Mar 22nd, 2009 at 5:59 am
Updated to the new version and thought I’d provide some feedback on this great little game. Maybe it is just because I’ve been playing the old version so much, but I didn’t care for the added takeoff and landing voice or the more forgiving touch radius. I’m now having trouble selecting the right plane when two are close together.
Great game though, I’m thoroughly addicted but not terribly good.
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on Mar 22nd, 2009 at 9:12 pm
I love planes in general and ATC is always something I’ve been interested so great job!!!
A few suggestions (if possible) that might help us in our “jobs.”
1) Circulation pattens: Right now we can only have 3 waypoints per plane which is hard when you want to have 5 airplanes circulate the airport so some form of continuous circle would be nice!
2) Plane entrance warning: I’ve had planes on the edge of the map flying when at random a new plane comes in and crashes into it without warning!
3) (only if you have time or feel like it) Other emergencies and perhaps defiant pilots
hehehehe
I love this game so post on your twitter because whatever you sell I’ll buy!
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on Mar 28th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Please try to give early warnings for incoming and takeoff traffic. Also I think planes fly very fast. It was my favorite game at my old mobile. The game speed then was more realistic.
You did a great job. Thank you for bringing it to iPhone.
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on Apr 4th, 2009 at 5:09 am
Nice App, but wanted to post a few comments/bugs I’d found after playing it for a while.
It seems to generate false warnings that a plane is about to fly off the screen when approaching the destination sometimes ( especially if coming in at a shallow angle), which can cause you to miss real warnings.
When routing multiple planes to a destination and there is a plane in the vicinity of the destination and you try to put the last waypoint at the destination it selects the plane already there instead! Could it be more intelligent about working out that if you already have a waypoint selected the chances are you actually want another rather than a plane that is nearly cleared
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on Apr 5th, 2009 at 2:50 pm
Hi guys,
I am listening to your feedback! Version 1.2 is about to come out and it will allow optional speech disabling.
Version 1.3 will be developed afterward to address the following:
- More intelligent warning system so that a plane near the edge that is actually headed out to its destination won’t get false-warnings
- Try to use better heuristics about figuring out which plane you want to select to address control issues.
- Plane entrance warnings (possible icons/dots/etc overlaid on edges for a few seconds before new plane enters).
And more!
Be patient though — we are a very small team and also are working on new games in parallel!
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on Apr 6th, 2009 at 10:46 am
Hi, greetings from Santiago, Chile.
I love ATC, it’s really addictive and challenging, great game.
I share the opinion on level 14, it’s proven to be extremely hard because (in my case) every plane gets knocked off course and I just cannot land the planes, and some make a 180º turn on the edge of the map (they go straight all the way but when approaching their final destination (A, B, C, or D) they start to “slide” and end up going the other way completely, but most of the time they do a 90º turn… I think it’s ok to have wind, it makes the level much more challenging and fun, however I think you over did it.
In addition to all the cool stuff coming on 1.2, do you think it would be possible to implement an altitude setting to the planes?, meaning that we can manage more planes in the sky, making the levels more challenging (being able to avoid traffic wouldn’t make the game easier, you’ll still have to be concerned about changing the altitude at the right moment). I was thinking that this could be achieved by double tapping when a plane is selected (once for decreasing and twice for increasing, for example)
Overall a great game, vey good job and congrats to the team, keep up the good work!!
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on Apr 7th, 2009 at 6:03 am
It just came to be that you can’t really double tap twice, duh!!!
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on Apr 11th, 2009 at 5:40 am
Hello, I bought this truly amazing app from the store yesterday, and It has become my second top app.
It becomes very, very frustrating sometimes, for example on level 27 it took me 5 HOURS too complete, I punched myself in the head because I found it so hard. If I were you guys I would change this level to land 10 planes instead of 20 as I nearly gave up on the app.
That is the only flaw I can think of.
Once again this is a brilliant app and keep up the good work.
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on Apr 13th, 2009 at 6:30 pm
Hey everyone. I’m stuck on Level 19. It’s night time and all planes much land on L1. I’m finding this next to impossible to land 3 or 4 planes. Has anyone cracked the code to completing Level 19? If so, can you please offer me a few tips? I’d very much appreciate it! Thanks!
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Ro reply on April 15th, 2009 9:08 am:
Level 19 is not all that hard, try to put waypoint in such a way that the planes take turns to land, they can land one after the other even if they’re really close to each other, for instance, if you have a plane coming from C and another coming from lower D, the one coming from C would get to land first but the other ne would be following very close, this does not matter as long as they don’t crash but even if they’re separated by just 1mm they will both land, so try to manage the waypoins so they don’t crash.
I do this by creating 2 routes, basically, I get planes that are coming from A, B, D, and Taking off to go down on both sides of the airport, then coming left or right (depending on which side of the airport they’re coming down from) and the go back up under the runway, if on a straight line they should land one after the other with ease. Planes coming from C just enter the queue as they come along
A
—<—–>– L1 |
| |
| | |
| ^ |
| | |
—>—>— -<—<-
C
Hopefully the “drawing” would remain its shape and may be of help.
Cheers.
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Ro reply on April 15th, 2009 9:09 am:
It didn’t retain its shape, but ok, hopefully you’ll get the point
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on Apr 14th, 2009 at 3:40 am
i downloaded this game for free from appulo its not bad
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on Apr 16th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
Hey Ro – thanks for the tips. Yeah, the diagram didn’t work, but I think I got it.
I will try it out and see how it goes.
I’ve been trying for nearly three weeks to get pass Level 19.
I can’t wait to finally do it!
Thanks!
Run
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on Apr 30th, 2009 at 8:13 am
Hey guys,
I submitted a new version of ATC to the app store. It contains a new controls scheme whereby you swipe a whole flight path for the plane with your finger. Additionally, you can now see the paths that each plane is on simultaneously. Overall it’s *much* easier to manage planes using this scheme.
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on May 7th, 2009 at 11:49 am
Ahhh! What a brilliant update from ATC. The new control scheme really does make a difference, its a lot easier to move the planes from A to B. I have been stuck on level 40 for months and I’ve finally done it.
A few things that could be improved are:
-The ability to change the controls scheme e.g. a options menu.
-The drawing of the flight path is extremely good, however once a line has been drawn perhaps that line could then evolve into a line that looks smooth a bit like Flight Control.
-However do not make the lines magnetise to its destination, like Flight Control already does. This way, it makes you work harder!
- And lastly perhaps we can see new airports and places e.g. a great big city (London?). And more levels to keep us occupied and addicted to this game.
I love this game and I also love Flight Control, but I don’t want ATC to turn into FL, as they are both very unique games and should both be kept different.
Overall this update is amazing, keep up the good work and I look forward to see whats in the next update.
Thanks
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on May 8th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I love the game, but I’m having problem with the new control scheme. It might be a case of big fingers, and not being able to draw a straight line. Under the old controls I was consistently in the area of 70,000 to 80,000 points in Under the new controls I having a problem getting to 15,000 My plane’s flight paths look like a they have had a wee bit too much to drink. I would love an option to use the old control scheme with the flight plan remaining visible. Oh and level 19 do you guys have stock in Apple because it has made me want to throw my phone against the wall more than once, but thanks for giving me a game I can beat my son’s score regularly.
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on May 8th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Hi guys,
I am glad you are loving the new control scheme.
By popular demand, I am now working on a 1.5 update that will:
- have smoother flight paths (so the pilots don’t act drunk if you have a shaky finger!)
- will allow to switch back to old control scheme for hardcore players
As for new content, larger levels, more graphics and sound — that will appear in an upcoming version of ATC.
-Calin
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on May 8th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Looking forward to 1.5. I do not like to new control scheme and would welcome an option for old control method. I liked ability to select click on points, forget it (except in winddy conditions, or make easy modifications.
New control impossible to plot a straight line, see where the vector will place the aircraft.
One future consideration. For those of us with poorer eyesight, please consider sharper contract or other alternative for levels where snow or ice is present.
Thanks
Jonathan
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on May 9th, 2009 at 1:14 pm
Hello to all you obviously very adept atc controllers,
I just bought the game today.
It looks great, was fun, but since I’m very new to gaming in general, I did find the tutorial and help a little sparse. And no matter how much I’ve tried, I haven’t been able to set a waypoint…It says: “Select a plane by touching it. Then touch the ground to place a waypoint where the plane should go.” Reads very simple, sounds very simple. Except … I’m not able to do it.
Any help would be much appreciated.
D.
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on May 12th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Yeah, the help is text was not updated to reflect the new controls. I suggest you do the following:
- SWIPE your finger on the screen to trace a path for the plane.
There is a new version of ATC 1.5 that was submitted to the store today (it should be out in a week). It addresses the following issues:
1- In-game menu to switch between “Classic” and new “Path” controls while playing
2- Added a bit more path smoothing (this is actually a hard problem!)
3- Updated in-game help to reflect possibility of classic or path controls
4- Made the hurricane winds also move the waypoints/paths! This has a more pleasant game experience than what was happening before (try it on level 7).
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d5vir reply on May 12th, 2009 3:38 pm:
Calin,
Thanks a lot for your answer.
I did try the SWIPE method… But, I’m sorry still no waypoints.
Doesn’t matter. Either I’ll figure it out at some point or I’ll just have fun with the levels I can master without waypoints.
I look forward to the upgrade.
Regards
D.
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Calin Culianu reply on May 13th, 2009 5:28 am:
Um. There are no waypoints anymore (well, in the upcoming version you can switch to the waypoints scheme).
There USED to be waypoints, but that wasn’t as cool as tracing a path.
Now, you just trace a path and the plane follows it. Think of this as a sort of waypoint, but it’s not, it’s a path.
I hope this helps.
In the new version we are bringing waypoints back for the players that found them awesome.
That’s it!
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on May 13th, 2009 at 5:44 am
Colin,
Thank you so very much! That will indeed explain why I couldn’t set them…
I look forward to the upgrade
Once again thank you!
Regards
D.
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on Jun 5th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Are jets intentionally worth 0 in Survival?
Any plans beyond ATC 4.0 v1.5 or are you working on ATC 5.0 now?
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on Jun 6th, 2009 at 10:25 am
Yes, jets are intentionally worth 0. The rationale being the military is supposed to be a nuissance — it isn’t paying the ATC tower any money for its services — it’s the military — they do what they want.
Yes, there will be a 1.6 update.
And yes, we will do a 5.0 version.
Feature list for both is hush-hush as of now.
-Calin
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Decas reply on June 11th, 2009 9:10 am:
One question on V5.0.
I am going to buy 4.0 tomorrow as I love the Lite version.
(This will be the first paid app i’ve ever bought even though i’ve had my iphone for a few months)
I’m worried that buying 4.0 won’t be worth it if you bring out 5.0 and I have to pay for it too. Will there be a free upgrade for 4.0 users or will be basically get shafted?
Thanks
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Michael (Admin) reply on June 12th, 2009 4:14 am:
I never speak on behalf of developers, but I can tell you that I’ve tried several hundred paid apps and never once has an update required any extra payment.
I believe it’s the design of the app store buying process… pay once, and future updates are included. I suppose this could change with firmware 3.0 but so far that’s what my experience has been.
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Calin Culianu reply on June 12th, 2009 7:26 am:
Hi,
My advice: Get 4.0 now and buy 5.0 when it comes out. 4.0 is still $0.99 and so I think it’s a bargain (I am not biased at ALL as the developer, now am I??) and a fun game for the money.
5.0 won’t be out for many months. It will be a major rewrite and will be a sold as a separate app, but that does not mean one should wait and not play 4.0.
Have you played Quake2 versus Quake3? They are both different games, and both worth playing in their own right. Wouldn’t it have been less enriching to have played one and not the other?
I would venture to say the same is true for ATC 4.0 versus 5.0.
And anyway, 5.0 won’t be out for a long time. Why wait? Enjoy 4.0 now.
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Lord Gek reply on June 12th, 2009 7:53 am:
Heck, if nothing else, especially for only $0.99, it will give you plenty of practice with the skills you’ll need for v5.0!
Since v5.0 is till a ways off can I put in my hopeful $0.02?
I far prefer a dynamic “Survival Mode” over a scoreless pass/fail series of campaign missions. What might be a nice compromise is a series of Survival Modes which, while all with their own discrete statistics, will each throw in unique twists on gameplay (like v4.0’s many campaign scenarios) and perhaps require minimum scores in a previous Survival Mode to unlock. In this way you’re kind of getting the best of both the Survival and “Sequential Campaign Missions of Increasing Complexity” Modes.
on Jun 12th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Oh, so all of the ATC’s have been considered revisions of the same application and not something like discreet separate versions like Doom and Doom 2?
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on Jun 12th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Lord Gek: Hey, thanks for your suggestion. It’s actually pretty cool! You are right in that players probably would love to compete on whatever scenario they find cool. Snow levels? Windy levels? Random-plane-on-fire levels? Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-going-wrong levels? Haha, that would definitely add a twist and keep people enganged.
The designer is on vacation now but when he gets back I’ll forward this along.
Thanks for the feedback!
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on Jun 17th, 2009 at 4:28 am
I just discovered this app and since i am on a tight budget I am considering whether to buy this app, with all those rave reviews around. Firstly, I want ‘long’games so does this game fulfil it with, ie. lots of levels, modes. Secondly, is there a Survival or Endless mode for replayability?? I really do not want to finish the game and have no incentives to come back.
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dexter reply on June 22nd, 2009 5:50 am:
Yes there is
A endless mode with online highscores
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on Jun 17th, 2009 at 5:27 am
Dude, it is a 99 cent game right now. You’re going to play it on your iPhone which, if memory serves, is afairly expensive platform. Live large man, take a gamble.
There are plenty of levels, an endless mode, and an onlyne leaderboard. It will also fold your laundry, autopilot your car and remove unwanted back hair.
All that for a buck. Go for it. Great game perfectly suited to the platform.
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Michael (Admin) reply on June 19th, 2009 2:48 am:
Haha Joyboy, I like your attitude
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on Jun 18th, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Finished the game yesterday, there are quite a few hard levels, but worth it. Don’t panic when you get to level 50, because you have to manage 50 planes, it is definetly not hard, I got it on the first try.
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on Sep 14th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
GOSTARIA DE BAIXAR ESTE JOGO COMO EU FAÇO?
A TODOS
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on Sep 14th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
PARA SIMILAR DO IPHONE
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on Sep 16th, 2009 at 7:37 am
I like this game. A few years ago I trained to be a real life ATC and this game is interestingly similar to what was thrown at me in the recruit selection test, except they had altitude to change and fewer planes at slower pace.
One improvement suggestion is a toggle to switch off the audio warning when approaching the edge. 80% of the time it’s false alarm and it happens so much I just ignore it, unfortunately together with the geuine STCAs….
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on Sep 29th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Jesus, can anyone pass level 27? Any tips? I must have put 2 hours in it already. Calin tells me 28 isn’t as hard… I just want to get to it!
I’ve tried one circle path, two circle paths… just I keep ending up with plane crashes. Gah!!!
Game is addictive though. Surprising amount of variety/number of challenges as you progress through the levels.
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on Oct 26th, 2009 at 4:33 am
Anyone out there who has a plan how to finish level 19? it’s too hard to be done for me.
the application is great but to stuck on level 19 is frustrating.
hopefully a update will change this level a bit easier.
thanks!
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on Oct 29th, 2009 at 7:24 pm
Guys, I’m submitting v 1.7 of the game to the store tonight. I made level 19 and level 27 be easier. Level 19 will have 10 planes to clear and 27 will have 15. This should make the difficulty curve more linear. Let me know how it foes!
-Calin
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on Nov 10th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
Really nice work on this app. I have noticed that sometimes the game seems to end too soon. For example, on a few occasions the game would end when I tapped (what I suppose is) the last plane however, I never directed it anywhere.
Thanks
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on Nov 11th, 2009 at 11:06 am
If you want to add Simplified Chinese, please also add traditional Chinese, or let user can choose which language to use.
Still there’re lots of people don’t want to use Simplified Chinese.
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on Nov 11th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Michael: It may just be you not realizing that all the planes have cleared. I am pretty sure the end-level code is solid since all it does it look at a counter.
Jonathan: I would translate to Traditional Chinese but as of this time the iTunes Chinese store is in Simplified only (I think).
-Calin
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jonathan reply on November 11th, 2009 11:42 am:
Actually I purchased this game from TW iTunes store.
The default language of my iPhone is Traditional Chinese, and when I open this game it will show Simplified Chinese.
Now I need to set my iPhone default language to English to play this game.
I don’t think you need to translate to Traditional Chinese now, but I wish I can choose which language to show while playing.
Thanks,
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on Dec 7th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
ARRH !! Love ATC but finally have turned to the net in search of some hint some useful piece of information that will help me get passed level 47!! Night time all planes have to land on L3 wind is 15, and the amount of planes coming in all directions is just ridiculous I have played and played and played until i can see the planes flying around when I try to sleep, Please someone give some info on how to get passed this!
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on Dec 25th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Great game, been playing for a few hours now. I’m looking for help on level 26 though…too many planes and if you are not EXACT on the runway lineup they miss and crash. I’ve been on level 26 for a couple hours now and it’s seeming impossible…
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on Feb 6th, 2010 at 7:28 pm
I’ve also been stuck on level 26 for FOUR DAYS. its impossible. too many planes veering off course due to high winds.
I wonder if the game developers actually played this level.
Are cheat codes available?
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